Hall of Fire chat: how much did Gandalf know?
February 25th, 2012 by Demosthenes 
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A Maia, Gandalf would have witnessed the foundation of Arda. But when he was “embodied” in Middle-earth during the War of the Ring, exactly how much foresight did he have?
Today we ask in Hall of Fire: Just how much — or how little — did Gandalf know?
Throughout the events of The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, his decisions often seem to have a hint of prescience.
We’re done for today! Thanks everyone who joined the discussion!
Indeed, in Unfinished Tales, Gimli wonders: “Did you plan all this, then, Gandalf? If not, why did you lead Thorin Oakenshield to such an unlikely door? To find the Ring and bring it far away into the West for hiding, and then to choose the Ringbearer — and to restore the Mountain Kingdom as a mere deed by the way: was not that your design?”
Yet if Gandalf was blessed with such foresight, how could he become imprisoned on Orthanc, or become cornered into a confrontation with the Balrog in Moria?
What precisely were those limits? How much were Gandalf’s actions guided by a vision of what might be, and how is due to a combination of good luck, good management and a deep understanding of hobbits, humans and elves?
Join us right now in Hall of Fire as we discuss all this as we try to decide how — or how little — Gandalf knew.
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. NB: Times have changed because of the daylight savings changeover!
America:
6.00pm EST (New York)
5.00pm CST (Chicago)
4.00pm MST (Denver)
3.00pm PST (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm GMT (London)
Midnight CET (Europe)
Asia-Pacific
9.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane,
10.00am AEDT (Sunday) Sydney, Melbourne
1.00pm NZDT (Sunday) Wellington
Our chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.
Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.
Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire
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